South Africa and United Kingdom-listed financial services group Old Mutual is “very comfortable” with the 62,5% level of acceptances received from Skandia shareholders for its R38-billion bid for the Swedish insurer, according to CEO Jim Sutcliffe.
Speaking with the media in a conference call following the release of the acceptances numbers on Tuesday, Sutcliffe said he also expects to receive more acceptances from Skandia shareholders, with the offer having been extended until January 12 2006.
“We are very happy with the votes we have, and although we expect to receive more, it doesn’t really matter if the amount rises further,” he said.
He said Old Mutual management would be holding discussions with the management of Skandia over the next few weeks regarding the structure of the combined board of the merged company, as so far nothing had been decided on the matter. There had also been no word from Skandia CEO Hans-Erik Andersson over his possible resignation, Sutcliffe confirmed.
Old Mutual was currently working hard to obtain all the requisite regulatory approvals by mid-January, said Sutcliffe, and hoped to be able to hold the merged group’s first extraordinary general meeting by the end of January, as soon as the transaction had closed.
He noted that it was possible the group could extend the offer past January 12, should all of the regulatory approvals not yet been received.
Sutcliffe also confirmed that Old Mutual planned to list separately on the Swedish stock exchange’s A-list. Meanwhile, Skandia Liv, the life insurance arm of Skandia, would retain its independence with its headquarters in Stockholm and a governance structure that ensured its funds were well looked after, he added.
“The main challenge going forward is to build the company for the future,” he said in response to a question from the media.
“We now have the opportunity to take the best from both parts of Old Mutual — from South Africa and the US — and see what we can use to support Skandia’s operations, while also seeing what of Skandia’s strengths in the UK and Sweden can be used elsewhere in the company.”
Old Mutual has offered Skandia shareholders 1Â 650 Swedish kronor in cash and 137 new Old Mutual shares for every 100 Skandia shares held.
The offer was originally valued at 43,60 kronor per share or an aggregate consideration of 45-billion kronor, a premium to the market price on May 12 (when the offer was initially discussed) of 25%. However, due to the depreciation in the Swedish kronor in the past two months and the rise in Old Mutual’s share price, this has risen to approximately 46,50 kronor per share.
According to Old Mutual’s estimates, a successful takeover of Skandia by Old Mutual would create Europe’s eighth largest insurer by embedded value at £7,5-billion or 137 pence per share, and the seventh largest in terms of assets under management at £192-billion. The merged group would also be ranked at about number 35 on London’s FTSE exchange.
The enlarged company would be able to take advantage of attractive growth opportunities in terms of new business, Old Mutual’s management has stressed, particularly given the diversified markets in which the new company would operate.
Of the enlarged group’s pro-forma value of new business (pre-tax), 32% would come from South Africa, 25% from the US, 18% from the UK, 15% from Europe and the rest of the world and 10% from Sweden. – I-Net Bridge